


Me, you, and the vast forest around us

by delta6453



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Camping, Canon Compliant, Forests
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-03-21 14:56:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13743342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delta6453/pseuds/delta6453
Summary: Akaashi and Bokuto get lost in the woods. Alone.Well, not really. There may be bears around too.





	Me, you, and the vast forest around us

“Man, my legs hurt like crazy. Can we stop for just, like, a minute?” 

Akaashi thought it over, but by then Bokuto had already plopped himself down on a stump and began to rub at his mosquito bite ridden legs. Akaashi readjusted his cargo hat, Bokuto had laughed at it earlier but he certainly wasn’t anymore, and took a glance about. As expected, green in every direction. The birds tittered and flapped about in the branches overhead. He’d admit, they’d been cute initially, keystone of the ‘naturalistic’ thing the coach had been going for, but now they were simply insufferable. 

“Hey,” Bokuto said, narrowing his eyes at a patch of moss. “Isn’t this that one moss that’s like supposed to make you see crazy colors and everything?” 

Akaashi scrutinized the thing, but he really didn’t need to, because as far as he knew, no such thing grew in the forest they were in. Was hallucinogenic moss even a thing? “No, Bokuto-san, it’s not.” He scrunched up his nose, turning on his heel and pushing his way through the thick foliage. It occurred to him he oughtn’t humor the guy one bit, but it was almost habit at this point. 

“Oh,” he stared glumly before hopping up and chasing after Akaashi. “So, where are we anyways? I haven’t seen the other guys for a while now.” He gave an innocent grin when Akaashi turned back to him wide eyed. 

Was he serious? There was no way he was. Akaashi ignored the comment, wiping at his brow with his, thankfully, yet clean handkerchief. They were supposed to be going South, so if he just followed the compass, they would be out soon enough. Near a cabin, or a town or anything that boasted some form of lifeforms with which he could communicate. Well, so he hoped. He wasn’t exactly sure on the specifics of the forest beyond the basics, not how large nor what kind of creatures lived in it, but in his defence, he’d never considered-

“Akaashi, do you have any more of those popsicle things left? I’m kinda thirsty. And hungry.” 

“No, of course I don’t. We don’t have the cooler.” 

“Huh. How about the bento boxes ya brought for us? Do you still have any of those?” 

Akaashi watched the compass needle waver, and hoped the damn thing hadn’t broken. It eventually settled, and he let out a sigh of relief. “Bokuto-san, you realize I only brought two? And I only did that because I knew you wouldn’t even realize you were supposed to bring one.” 

“I did realize it, though!” Akaashi checked his phone again. No signal, as he’d expected. “But there was nothing in my fridge so I just threw together some cereal and chips and hoped that would be enough.” 

Akaashi had almost gagged when he’d seen that abomination, Cocoa Puffs coated in chip particles and vice versa. He’d handed over the second bento wordlessly. “Well it wasn’t. And we already ate them anyways.” 

“Ok, I got that,” he struggled to catch up once more, “but you don’t have to be so pissy about it! What’s wrong anyways? Not like we’re lost or something, right?” 

Akaashi stopped dead, pulling a hand over his face. He was serious. “We are. We’re hopelessly lost.” He really didn’t want to say anything, but hell if these kinds of things didn’t get annoying considering how frequently they happened. “Remember how you said you needed to pee, and I asked you to please go alone but you dragged me along anyways? And then ran in the opposite direction, while still holding my wrist, because, apparently, you’d seen a bear? I believe it was around then.” 

Bokuto pouted, crossing his arms. “Well, obviously I couldn’t go alone! I’d never win a fight against a bear!” 

“You wouldn’t if I were there either.”

“Well, you don’t know that! I could always, um, always…” He puffed out his cheeks, staring down at his shoes. Akaashi sensed the beginnings of a Dejected Mode, and the only thing worse than being lost in some vast forest was being lost with someone who refused to cooperate. Anyways, it wasn’t all the Captain’s fault anyways. Well… No, as Konoha had told him, he was the one who coddled the other and that was what eventually happened. Maybe he too had jumped to blows too early. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come out so harshly.” Bokuto grinned self assuredly at that. He didn’t think himself vindictive, but that look was incredibly annoying. “…After all, if it were just you, I think you might have gotten lost forever. So, by dragging me in… nice play.” 

He nodded proudly, as Akaashi began to push through the bushes once more. The sun beat down on his back, and he swore his arms had already gained that seashell pink hue that foreshadowed a burn. Dammit, Bokuto never got any of those nasty burns and his skin was lighter. Eventually, because it was always eventually, the other exclaimed indignantly. “Hey, what the hell’s that last part supposed to mean?!” 

“Don’t mind.”

“But I do mind, I do!” He stomped over, still complaining, but continued to follow the other. Akaashi thanked God that he was quick to get over his issues. Then, just to set the scale straight, rued that very same God for getting them hopelessly lost in a patch of wilderness.  
☆☆☆

He’d climbed a tree, settled in the branches and surveyed the surroundings like some sort of bird of prey. Regardless how passionately he’d gesticulated it all, that he might spot the group, or pick up the signal, or whatever other thing he could think up, Akaashi knew him better than that. Plain and simple, he’d wanted to climb a tree so he could act like some sort of rogue Tarzan or King Kong. 

Gulls wheeled high above, squawks loud and resounding through the muted forest. Probably not gulls, he corrected. He really hadn’t studied the ecology well enough to know and was sure to learn from his mistake for next time. Still, he hadn’t expected this… quiet, stillness. During the day there’d been the chatter of the team, the incessant buzzing of cicadas and the occasional gust of wind through the thrush. Now… it’d all stopped. Besides for the heat and the fall of wan light through the dappled foliage, it’d all stopped. 

“Oh man, I can barely even see you from here! Or the bears, I can’t see ‘em either!” 

Thank God for Bokuto, whose yells were loud enough to send his thoughts into hiding. So, Akaashi supposed, he’d gone up to look for bears. That was another valid reason one had for scaling tall and prickly trees. 

“There aren’t any bears in these woods, Bokuto-san.” 

“I ran into one, Kaashi! It was big and black and had these big jaws like…. like the jaws of life!” Akaashi had to snort at that one. 

“You never ran into one, though. You just thought you saw one. There are no bears in these woods.” 

“Did too!” the foliage rustled as he clambered about. Akaashi hoped he wouldn’t fall, because then he’d have to catch him and, yeah, game over. “And you don’t know! You can’t say that!” 

…Touché. “Well, if there are, they’ll hear you and come attack.” 

“Oh, shit!” The tree shook once as more as the other began to scale down through the branches. Akaashi squinted through the sunlight at the lumbering figure. He jumped down, covered in mosquito bites, scratches, and, newly, pine needles. Akaashi sighed. “You’re right! Wouldn’t want to call those dudes over.” 

So that was what he was right about after all? Reason lost to plain fear mongering, as always did when he was talking to Bokuto. 

“So, I saw a clearing over that way.” Bokuto scrunched up his nose in thought, before pointing towards an old oak. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was that way. So, we can, you know, maybe get reception or something?” Akaashi eyes widened. Maybe he’d actually understood the situation, decided to do something useful?

“Kaashi? That’s what the compass says too, right?” Akaashi pulled it out. Yup, that was South. He nodded vaguely. “Hell yeah! I’m good, aren’t I?! Here, give me the compass and I’ll lead us.” 

It was a miracle, Akaashi could wipe the fictional tears from his eyes, he’d been properly thinking about the whole thing. 

“So, if we get there by… six? What time is it now?” It was 5:30 sharp. “Yeah, then we’ll have time to maybe find the others and escape this place! And we’ll even escape those damn bears!” So he exclaimed passionately, raising his hand hopefully for a high five. 

There were no bears in the… Whatever, he’d brought Akaashi to fictional tears and that was certainly admirable. He returned the high five gingerly.  
☆☆☆

They’d been walking for twenty minutes already. According to Bokuto, they should have been near that clearing. A stone’s throw away, he’d claimed. “Bokuto-san?” 

“…he was totally calling me a stud, dammit, I’m sure of it. What’s up?” 

“Where’s the clearing? Didn’t you say it was right around here?” 

He scratched at his chin, “Yeah, give or take. Don’t worry, I know my stuff!” 

Akaashi hoped so. Maybe he’d seen a mirage. Altitude sickness or something like that. Well, as long as they still had the compass, the non-functional phones and the food (Could that be considered food?) there was still hope. A sliver, he decided tiredly, and even a sliver was enough when one was gazing into the immutable abyss. 

“So, after he called me a stud, he said he was jealous of my hair! Can you even believe that?” 

No, no he couldn’t.  
☆☆☆

In his defense, he’d been blinded by the tears. He couldn’t have possibly imagined that Bokuto would seriously have gone on about ‘what a cool guy he was’ for the next forty minutes. Yes, they spent a lot of time together, but Akaashi usually left after five minutes of such antics. Now that they were alone, lost in the dense woods, watching their shadows grow with the sinking sun, there wasn’t really anything he could do to dodge this treatment. Well, there technically was but then they’d both be lost forever. Alone. Surrounded by endless green, the brutal wavering sun, hallucinogenic moss, bloodthirsty bears and tasteless berries. He looked over at Bokuto hoping, in some elusive way, it would ease his fears. 

“So, then I told her, ‘No, of course not! I’M the coolest!’ And she was like, so surprised, but still…” 

Oh God, was this how it felt to lose a grip on reality? It hadn’t even been three hours and he felt he could collapse onto the soil and never get up again. But then again, maybe it was reality? 

That they were lost in the woods forever. That them two, alone, were lost in the woods forever. That darkness would eventually fall, and they’d still be in the forest and then they’d get mauled by bears. 

“Bokuto-san, did you seriously see a bear back there?” 

“But I knew, - huh? Yeah,” he scratched at his chin thoughtfully, “yeah, I did!” He crossed his arms, hopping upon a felled log. How he still had the energy was a wonder. “Why, I thought you didn’t buy it!” 

“I-I don’t,” he struggled out, “but it’s almost night and I just assumed there were none because I never studied the ecology of this area. But if you say you saw one,” he swiped at his brow, God it was hot, “then you might actually have. So did you?” 

“Yeah, it was a bear! I’m pretty sure. I mean, I only saw it from far away but it was this huge black thing so I’m pretty sure.” Bokuto narrowed his eyes skeptically, sitting guardedly. “Why, ya gonna try to disprove it again?! I swear Akaashi, it really was a bear!” 

No, he wouldn’t try to disprove it. He really couldn’t, even if he wished it. 

“How far is that clearing you saw? My legs are getting tired.” 

“Oh, uh…” he jolted and looked about uncertainly, up and down at the compass, “not far anymore.” He started walking once more, brushing his hands against the mossy trees and studying their leaves as if he actually knew what he was doing. 

Akaashi sure hoped the guy wasn’t as hopelessly lost as he looked as he followed along warily.  
☆☆☆

It was getting to be twilight, his hair was damp with sweat and he was starting to trip over his own feet. Compass, phones, food, hope. Check. Well, maybe not on all those. Bokuto’s stomach had started rumbling some time ago and he’d eaten half the bag of chip cereal. Akaashi would have, but his stomach had turned itself into knots at the mere thought. What he wished for was water. Water would have been nice, especially since he’d been sweating so much, far more than…

Bokuto stopped dead in his tracks, Akaashi walking directly into his back. He said nothing, stood stock still. Akaashi, suddenly fearing the worst, peeked curiously over his shoulder. There was nothing there. He’d just come to a complete stop. Unless…

“What-”

“Shhh.” Bokuto’s eyes stayed glued to a patch of blueberry bush, mouth drawn into a thin line. And then, as if nothing’d ever happened, the person in question in question sighed, resuming his pace with little delay. “Alright,” he chirped, “clearing right ahead!” 

He listened hard, clutching the hat to his chest. Two sets of footsteps. Heartbeat echoing in his ears, fast and irregular. “Bokuto-san, was it the bear?” 

He didn’t respond for a bit. And when he did, he didn’t even turn. “When did it become ‘the bear?’ Ah, are you finally trusting your senpai!? Color me proud!” 

He ran to catch up, ignoring the way his legs ached against the pressure and the pack began to slip down his wet back. “I’m serious, just,” he panted with the effort, “say it if it was the bear! You’re the one who said I could help if there were one, didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t a bear,” he muttered, pulling huffily at a dishevelled strand of hair. Something shifted to his right, a mere ruffling of the leaves in the thick underbrush. He shivered despite it all. 

Compass, phones, food, hope. Check. Compass, phones, food, hope. Check. Compass, phones, food… Ah, fuck it. 

“Well then, what was it?! You can’t just shut up after insisting there’s a bear in the woods!” A silence, heavy and foreboding, had settled over the forest. “Where’s the damn clearing, anyways!?” 

Finally, the other turned around. But if Akaashi had been expecting an angry outburst or bout of sulking, he’d been completely wrong. All that was clear on his face was confusion, as his gold eyes scoured the other’s face. “Akaashi, what’s wrong? You aren’t acting normal.”

Akaashi shifted his weight from one foot to the other, struggling to clear his mind and think hard. They were stuck in the woods, and the sun was dropping, and there was the bear. Or so he thought. Was there really a bear? “I…I don’t know. There’s a bear isn’t there?! Bokuto-san, where is it?” 

The other only grimaced, eyes falling to his own feet. “I’m not a good senpai after all, am I? I should’ve noticed earlier.” Akaashi pulled at his fingers, wondering what it all even meant. 

“…What are you talking about? The bear?” 

He only shook his head sadly, nearing Akaashi and setting a hand gently on his reddened arm. “No, not the bear.” His skin was blissfully cool against his own. “Heat stroke. Akaashi, you clearly have heat stroke.” 

He squinted at Bokuto. No he didn’t. “No I don’t.” 

“You ought to take more care of yourself. Here.” Before he could complain, the other had hoisted his onto his back, ignoring the way their clothes and bodies, slick with sweat, stuck to each other. In any other situation, he may have cared more. But it was so hot, so blisteringly hot, it didn’t even matter. And the skin of his arms was so blissfully cold. 

“I don’t have heatstroke,” he muttered. 

“Sure you don’t,” responded Bokuto, struggling under the weight. “The clearing’s nearby now, I’m sure of it.” And like a strangely assembled wind up toy, the two hobbled towards what thankfully looked like a sparse grove of oaks.  
☆☆☆

A sea of yellow stretched as far as he could see. Petit flowers all in a patch of sunlight that really only existed in fairy tales. “What is this all?” he muttered, slightly taken aback. 

“The clearing!” Bokuto dropped him near a tree as unceremoniously as possible. “Ain’t it nice? I saw it and realllly wanted to get here.” His peaks of hair fell just a bit. “I mean though, I didn’t know you had heat stroke. I wouldn’t have veered off path if I had.” 

A drop of sweat slid down his temple, and he wiped it off before it could get his shirt any wetter than it already was. “I don’t have heatstroke. I’m just a little hot.” He shifted under Bokuto’s unconvinced gaze. “We can get going in 5 minutes and I can walk. You don’t have to worry.” 

“You say that,” Bokuto perched next to him, “but you’re way hotter than you’re supposed to be. Like, crazy hot!” He blinked once. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He blinked twice. “Well, okay, I guess it makes sense like that too though.” 

He threw his head down, moaning into his arms. “I’m being weird, aren’t I? Goddam, and I even had that ‘really cool’ vibe going for me there a bit!” 

Akaashi stifled a smile. He really almost had. 

“Anyways,” he stood, rolling back his shoulders, “when I was in the Boy Scouts, they taught us a lot of neat little survival tricks. I think I even remember how to make a signal fire! So, just stay there and I’ll take care of eveeerything!” 

“I don’t, wait, but I don’t…” But there he’d gone, dashing through the forest without any intention of listening to common sense. Well, considering he’d been raving about bears but minutes ago, perhaps it wasn’t the proper terminology. Admittedly, the heat had risen to his head. But it wasn’t heat stroke. 

“Hey, hey! I found this wood AND a pair of flint stones! Lucky, huh?” He emptied his arms, sitting cross legged by the pile. “It’s already pretty dark, so I should start a fire! Ya know, like a signal flame. Cool stuff, right?” 

Akaashi rubbed at his nose and looked down at his legs. Move, dammit. Nothing. Were they going to spend all night in the woods because of him and his throbbing legs? Surely, if he tried, he could get up and…

“Woah, woah, Aghaashi! Don’t worry, I won’t make the fire that big!” He ran over, pushing him back down onto the ground. “Ya gotta rest and get over that heat stroke! No getting up on my watch!” 

“I don’t,” he said through gritted teeth, “have heatstroke!” 

Bokuto shook his head once more, concentrating on the two stones which seemed determined to not spark. “That’s not normal Akaashi yet, so nope! I say you do, and that’s final!” 

Damnit, Akaashi hissed, dammit at all. Of course this was the day when Bokuto had to have a point.  
☆☆☆

The forest had become lively again as night had fallen, thankfully. Insects were chittering away, and he even thought he’d heard an owl or two. Bokuto’d been excited about that prospect. Besides, the fire crackled away and the ground was cool under him and the night sky was rather dazzling when one wasn’t staring up at it through a series of artificial lights.

A familiar face appeared above his own, jubilant as ever. “Ya looking up at the stars or something?” He sat down on a nearby log with a grunt. “Aren’t you glad I found a clearing now!” 

Not particularly. On either of the counts. “I was just thinking.” Not as much about bears as about a way to get out of the forest. After all, there were no bears in the forest. 

…Man, he must have been terribly feverish to think such things. Bokuto’d been right about him needing to take a break and cool down. 

“Oya? What about?” 

All in all, what he meant was that it wasn’t that bad. He rolled onto his side, twirling a flower through his fingers. “Nothing in particular. Maybe what we should do tomorrow morning.” 

“Ha! That one’s easy! The boys’ll find us, so we won’t have to do anything. What, you don’t trust my campfire skills?!” 

So he hoped. There ought to be a search party already, and a stream of smoke rising through the trees was as auspicious as anything else. Akaashi allowed his eyes, his thoughts, to wonder. Bokuto was poking the flames with a stick, face and irises tinged with amber. Under any other circumstances, this may have been ideal. A night of crickets and firelight. 

He got up, legs and head feeling far clearer, and sat next to the other. “I might have said a lot of snide, senseless things today. I’m sorry. I don’t really think any of them.” 

His grin, smeared with food, widened. “Don’t think you said anything.” He pulled out the bag of cereal chips. “Want some or am I eating dinner alone?”

Now that Akaashi’s nausea had faded, even that concoction looked appealing. He took a handful. Not bad. Like those strange salted candies. “Maybe I didn’t, but sometimes it comes off that way.” 

“No, no way!” The other scooted in closer, pulling out another generous handful of food. “You’re the man, Kaashi! You just show me who says these things and I’ll beat em all up!” 

He raised his eyebrows, slightly elated. “That won’t be necessary but thank you.” 

“Yeah, it’s no worry!” He rubbed at his neck sheepishly. “Besides, I’m not the easiest person to deal with. Cause other people, they… Anyways, I’m really, really, pumped you actually hang out with me! And it’s like, when all the guys say you care about me, it makes me feel all warm and everything.” He looked up inquiringly. “You do, right?” 

Akaashi drew in his eyebrows. Of course he did. More than he’d ever say. More than he even thought he was supposed to. “I do. Everyone on the team does.” 

“Oh.” Bokuto’s eyes slipped back towards the fire morosely. The flames jumped, popped. 

“…Okay, okay, I’ll try to be more honest. Sometimes you bother me, you’re moody and difficult to deal with and annoying.” He pulled at his fingers. “But, I don’t think I mind it. You’re not a bad guy, Bokuto-san. You’re cool, nice. An ace. I like you more than I should, I think.”

The smoke rose in strings of grey and white, disappearing into the dappled sky. 

“Ummm, I…” Bokuto chuckled, rubbing at his cheeks. “That’s way more than I expected, really! I’m blushing here.” He kicked detachedly at a dying log, pivoting to stare up into the sky. They sat in silence, as the fire died and Bokuto studied the twinkling points of light. 

“…How about them stars, huh?” 

Akaashi followed his gaze, humming in agreement. 

“They’re pretty, aren’t they? You’d never see them in the city, right?”

“Yeah,” he smiled, “this is a good spot you picked.” 

The embers reflected in his eyes, seas of copper and gold.

“I think I do too, you know.” His voice fell, lower than the crickets and the owls and the far-off shouts belonging to whichever search party they did. “Like you more than I should.”  
☆☆☆

Someone was shining a flashlight directly into his face. Someone else was shaking his shoulder. God, he was tired.

“…aashi. Akaashi!” the voice hissed. Ugh. Pain in the ass. He cracked open an eye. Yukie blew the hair from her face, relieved. Simultaneously angrier than he’d ever seen her. “We’ve been looking for you guys all night, and you’re here cuddling up? What the hell?!”

He shifted back drowsily. He’d deal with it when the sun was higher in the sky and his mind clearer. “Akaashi! Dammit, get up! You can’t sleep in the forest all night!” A hand shook his shoulder once more, rougher than before. 

“It’s alright! I’ll just carry him back! You know I’m strong and all.” Droned on the voices far too near to his ear and his slumber.  
Someone’s derisive laugh filled the air. “He’s a big boy, he can walk.” His eyebrows furled, and he buried further into the bedsheets, clutching them to his body. Did Konoha ever find it in himself to shut up? 

The first voice returned, this time more hushed. A hand patted his head. “Ya see, he’s a bit out of it. He kept talking about the bears, and he got heat stroke, and then he was acting really weird, getting mad and sentimental and everything… So I feel sorta bad.”

So, he had to wake up and set the cards straight after all? Darn.

“I don’t have heat stroke,” he yawned, blinking away the sweet embrace of sleep, “and there are no bears in these woods. What are you talking…” 

He stared up into the mosaic of faces above him, loosening his grip on the bedsheets. Rather, Bokuto’s shirt. 

Oh, he thought. That’s what Yukie had been talking about. “…Why am I sleeping in your lap, Bokuto-san?” 

Konoha shook his head exasperatedly. “That’s your first question?” He scuffed at his shoes. “And if you’re awake, can you just talk about this later? The rest of us really don’t -” 

“You were the one who fell asleep! I couldn’t just push ya off, you know?” Akaashi sat up, brushing down his creased clothes. “Sides, it’s fine! It’s not like you kick in your sleep anything.” 

He pulled at a curl of hair. Sure, he had a point. 

“Does anyone listen to me?!” Konoha clicked his tongue. “It’s late, we’re tired, and this place is dangerous. So, let’s trudge back and have our lovely little reunion down at the lodge.”

It took him a lot of effort to stand and start walking at what must have been 2 AM. It took him even more effort to refuse that piggy back ride Bokuto offered. He imagined Konoha would have had an aneurysm if they’d spent any more time arguing over whatever that was classified as.  
☆☆☆

“What did you mean by ‘dangerous,’ Konoha-san?” The mosquitos were biting again, and even the briefest conversation would hopefully keep his mind off it. Excluding one with Bokuto, who was currently retelling a tale of, apparently, great proportions. 

“What the hell do you mean? Do you know nothing of this forest?” Konoha’s eyes narrowed when Akaashi shook his head. “There’s bears. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t run into any.” 

Akaashi licked at his lips, suddenly far more alert. “But, I thought…” 

Konoha sneered. “There were none? I’m not sure why, this area’s pretty notorious for bears.” He raised his hands above his head, eyes fixed on the dense leaves overhead. No more stars to admire. “All in all, you guys were pretty lucky. ‘Specially considering you were pretty sick.” 

“Sick? Was I really?” 

“C’mon, Akaashi. Going off Bokuto’s descriptions, you had at least heat exhaustion. If there were any bears, you guys’d have been…” He brushed a slender finger across his throat with an uneasy smirk. 

Well, thought Akaashi, he clearly had someone to apologize to. To thank, moreso. He turned back, watching the ever joyous other, weaving a tale of bears and narrow escapes and whatever else caught his fancy. His gaze dotted with stars and embers, even though they weren’t anywhere near either. Akaashi caught his gaze and flashed him a terse grin. ‘Thank you,’ he mouthed. 

As if recognition were rippling through the deep irises, he stopped and flashed back his own. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled back. 

Loud enough to cause the birds to flutter from their perches, send a wave of bubbling laughter through the team, wake all bears within a 10-mile radius.

“NO PROBLEM!!!” 

Loud enough to make all his thoughts disperse like wisps of smoke caught in the wind. 

Akaashi learned a lot of things that starry night. That bears lived near Tokyo. That he wasn’t immune to the heat, nor the frenzy it brought about. That his favorite flowers were the little citrine ones that grew in clumps. That a campfire could smell of oak and, strangely enough, chocolate. That the sky could appear alabaster if it were dotted with the right number of stars. And that two words, a single smile, could make his heart leap and burn like it’d never had before.  
☆☆☆

**Author's Note:**

> Omake! 
> 
> “…Why go to a forest that’s notorious for bears on a school trip?” 
> 
> “Right, right?!” 
> 
> Anyways, this was total fun to write! Hope ya enjoyed! <3


End file.
